VOA慢速英语2014 美国取消了严禁对越南出售致命武器的禁令

 

AS IT IS 2014-10-03 US Eases Ban on Lethal¹ Weapons to Vietnam 美国取消了严禁对越南出售致命武器的禁令

The United States has partially² ended a ban on sales of lethal weapons to Vietnam. Lethal weapons are those that can cause great harm or death. The decision to sell such weapons to Vietnam comes nearly 40 years after the end of the war between the two countries, and 30 years after the ban took effect.

The U.S. State Department announced the decision on Thursday. Earlier in the day, Secretary of State John Kerry met with Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Pham Binh Minh, in Washington and told him about the decision.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the United States still has concerns about human rights in Vietnam. She said arms sales to the country would be examined one case at a time.

“Our security relationship remains³ under constant review. Clearly there's more work that needs to be done in areas like human rights, and that’s one thing that the Secretary conveyed during the meeting and this is, of course, a partial lifting.”

Vietnam is facing increasingly aggressive Chinese territorial⁴ claims to large parts of the South China Sea -- waters that Vietnam calls the East Sea. Experts believe the area has large amounts of oil, natural gas and minerals. The partial lifting of the ban permits the sale of equipment that will help Vietnam defend its waters and coast. The State Department says the decision was not aimed at China.

U.S. Senator John McCain welcomed the decision. But he called for improvements in Vietnam’s human rights record. The Reuters news service reported his comments. Senator McCain is a former U.S. Navy pilot. He fought in the Vietnam War, was captured and held prisoner in Vietnam for more than five years.

Human Rights Watch immediately criticized the decision. The group has long protested what it believes is Vietnam’s poor treatment of opposition⁵ leaders and ethnic⁶ and religious minorities.

Human Rights Watch spokesman John Sifton described Vietnam’s record on political prisoners as “bad and getting worse.” And he said many Christian⁷ groups in Vietnam are still unable to register with the government, and remain illegal. The Associated Press reported his comments.

The easing of the ban is the latest move in the slowly-improving ties between the United States and Vietnam. Relations were normalized in 1995, 20 years after the end of the war. Since then, trade between the countries has risen to more than $20 billion a year.

1 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

2 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

5 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

6 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

7 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。